Q&A for How to Herd Cattle

Absolutely. If you can't herd them, lead them! Bribery helps with a bucket of feed to entice them to follow you. If they already associate you or something else to feed, that will be enough to get them to follow you. Calling them (they learn to associate a certain call with feeding time) also helps, especially if they know you and know what your tone of voice means. Cattle are smart animals, smarter than most people give them credit for!

When cattle are on the highway, being herded to another pasture, it is wise to make sure the flow of these animals is not interrupted by traffic. Drivers have the responsibility to slow down or stop to make sure this flow is uninterrupted as well. Blocking the highway may not be needed, especially if there are ditches where cattle can be moved through instead, and they just have to cross the highway only once. However, it is best to check with state or provincial road/transportation reps to familiarize yourself with the laws regarding moving cattle.

They can be as slow as normal walking pace, or as fast as a horse can run at a full gallop. When a herd of cattle get like that, that's a full-on stampede. Cattle are much harder to work with when they're on a full run than when they're walking or standing still in a group.

In the old cattle drives back in the 19th century up to the early 20th century, they could herd a herd of cattle for about 18 to 20 miles per day without having the animals getting too tired out. If the cowhands pushed them to go any further per day, the animals would be more worn out by the time they got to their destination and more prone to die from stress and illness, and much less ability to become adapted to their new home.

Yes. He was trying to protect his harem from you and wasn't wanting them to follow your lead. I believe in this instance you should have focused on moving the bull instead of the heifers; let the heifers follow and still keep them all together but maintain your focus on the bull. If you must put the bull in the pasture first before the heifers, then do so. They will follow if you've already provided enough incentive to do so!